Canada M20 setting sights on 2015

They may still be in the early stages of their careers, but the Canadian Men’s U-20 that’s assembled for a week of training already has plenty of professional and international experience to their names.

New Head Coach Rob Gale has 23 players together in Sunrise, Florida, USA, for a week of training and intrasquad matches as they get preparations underway in earnest for next year’s CONCACAF Under-20 Championships which serve as qualifiers for the FIFA U-20 World Cup New Zealand 2015.

Included in the squad are Michael Petrasso and Fraser Aird—both players with professional experience in England and Scotland, respectively. But there are a number of players who have also featured in training camps at the senior level with Canada’s Men’s National Team and Head Coach Benito Floro.

“I am delighted that we were able to get the majority of the players we wanted into this camp and with qualifying a very short distance away it is important for the group to come together and start building the rapport and playing relationships that are going to be vital to us going forward,” said Gale. “It is great that these young lads are getting valuable first team experience and our overseas lads like Fraser , Michael and Dylan (Carreiro) are able to bring their experiences to the group.”

The team started training on Sunday 11 May and will be on the field every day until Sunday 18 May.

Gale says the focus of the camp is to work on the team’s attacking versatility and to work on the team’s system’s of play and being able to adapt to the sorts of competition they’ll be facing when they take on CONCACAF’s best.

“That will give us options depending on our opponents strengths and weaknesses come competition time,” said Gale. “It promises to be a great camp and there is a healthy competition for places across the board and a great energy amongst the boys.”